Wes Craven Says ‘Scream 4’ Was First In New Trilogy & ‘Scream 5’ Is Likely

Wes Craven Says 'Scream 4' Was First In New Trilogy & 'Scream 5' Is Likely

Well, by most accounts, both critically and commercially, “Scream 4” was a dud. Even though it rounded up all the original players (that were still alive) from the first installment and paired them with a bunch of newcomers, the movie earned the lowest of any entry of the franchise to date and unlike its predecessors, it failed to crack $100 million worldwide. Still, despite the rough production which saw franchise creator Kevin Williamson scrapping it out with the Weinsteins (they later hugged it out) and changes by replacement screenwriter Ehren Kruger rumored to have soured some cast members, talk of a sequel is still rearing its head.

Franchise director Wes Craven has been doing the rounds recently for the forthcoming DVD/BluRay release and recently chatted with MovieWeb and kept hope alive for a sequel. “Yes. The odds are that there will be [a ‘Scream 5‘]. It is something that Bob Weinstein wants to do. He tends to do what he wants to do. So I am inclined to think that there will be (another sequel),” the director said, noting that he wasn’t signed on but that he has the first look at the project if and when it pushes forward.

Discussions about followups seemed to be happening even before “Scream 4” came out with both Craven and Williamson in the spring cautiously saying that they already had basic outlines mapped out for “Scream 5” and “Scream 6” should they come to pass. And as Craven elaborates now, these three films are being viewed as a trilogy unto themselves.

“Going into (‘Scream 4’), the first meeting I had with Kevin Williamson, he did sketch out a ‘Scream’ 5 and 6. The idea was that we were doing the first in a new trilogy,” Craven said about the development of the movies. “We had to wait to see if we made enough money on each film to make the next one viable. If that happens, [Kevin Williamson and Bob Weinstein] will come up with the concepts and an idea that is worth fulfilling.” And Craven does know where the story goes next, he’s keeping mum.

“I’d have to kill you if I told you. Its better to have an ending where you can’t tell where it’s going to go next. Than to have an ending where you go, ‘Oh, that is the hook for the sequel. That is the hook for the next one.’ We felt it was better to let the audience speculate than to have all of these clues placed in their lap. It’s not a matter of not being smart enough [to figure out how 4 ties into 5]. We’re clever at this. Let’s just put it that way,” he somewhat confusingly explains.

Still, with $97 million worldwide in the bank for “Scream 4” its not as if the franchise has is entirely dead either. If anything Dimension Films knows how to crank out cheapie sequels so we’re not counting this one out yet. In case you missed, “Scream 4” hits home video on October 4th.

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